This application claims the priority of German application 196 30 646.9 filed in Germany on Jul. 30, 1996, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a floor assembly for motor vehicles, especially passenger cars with a double-walled floor with locally disposed reinforcements extending between lateral external side members and a center tunnel.
German Patent 934,628 teaches a floor assembly for motor vehicles, especially automobiles, wherein a double-walled floor with locally disposed reinforcements running lengthwise extends on both the driver and passenger sides between a side member located laterally and externally and a center tunnel. The side members, center tunnel, and double-walled floor with reinforcements are formed of a plurality of stamped panels.
This arrangement suffers from the disadvantage that, because of the structure consisting of many parts, high manufacturing and assembly costs are incurred for the floor assembly since a plurality of sheet-steel stamping tools is required and extensive welding must be performed.
An object of the invention is to improve on a floor assembly of the species recited at the outset in such fashion that the cost of manufacturing and assembly is significantly reduced.
According the invention, this object is achieved by providing an arrangement wherein the double-walled floor on driver and passenger sides is formed by at least one hollow member produced by the internal high-pressure shaping method, said at least one hollow member being permanently connected to a lateral external side member and a center tunnel, and wherein the reinforcements are formed by locally joined opposite wall sections of the at least one hollow member.
Primary advantages achieved with the invention consist in the fact that the number of structural elements and joining procedure are significantly reduced by making the double-walled floor using the internal high-pressure shaping system.
Many additional reinforcing parts can be eliminated since the reinforcements are constituted by wall sections of the respective hollow bodies that are located alongside one another in certain areas and are also opposite one another. Preferably, the lateral external side members and/or the center tunnel and/or a lower cross member located endwise are formed by parts shaped by internal high pressure. As a result, the number of individual parts is drastically reduced and tool costs are reduced as well. The required welded connections can be made by a welding robot.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.